For the sake of common interests, Turkey should act in cooperation with the Iraqi government, Sahaf said, Rudaw reported on Monday.
Turkey continues conducting limited cross-border military operations targeting Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in the mountainous region in Iraq and Turkey.
Thirteen Turkish citizens, most of whom were members of Turkey’s security and intelligence services, were killed on February 14 during a Turkish military operation against a PKK base in Gara, near the Turkish border in northern Iraq.
Turkey has since threatened to launch a larger scale military incursion and has called for Iraqi consent for a joint or unilateral operation.
“We expressed our attitude many times. We reject any operation that is not carried out in coordination with the Iraqi government. In many operations, civilians were martyred and infrastructure was damaged in the Kurdistan region. We reject unilateral steps,” Sahaf said.
As part of the diplomatic efforts started by the Iraqi side, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is expected to visit Baghdad soon, Sahaf said.
The PKK is a militant group which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for decades and is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
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